- Date
- February 24, 1995, 10:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Dillon, MT
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Standing
- Aircraft
- N2277TBell 206
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 13, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950224003259A
- Case key
- 42069
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
The pilot's selection of a landing site that was not suitable to support the weight of the helicopter. Factors include terrain covered with soft snow.
Analysis
The pilot landed at a remote snow-survey site, and then moved the cyclic in a circle to test whether the snow would support the weight of the helicopter. Sensing that the snow was firm enough to support the helicopter's weight, the pilot elected to shut down the engine. After he had shut off the engine and the rotor was decelerating, one of the snowpad-equipped skids broke through the snow. As the skid broke through the snow, the tail rotor impacted the snow and then contacted the tail boom causing substantial damage.
Factual narrative
On February 24, 1995, approximately 1030 mountain standard time (MST), the tail rotor of a Bell 206, N2277T, impacted the snow as the pilot was shutting down the aircraft about 42 miles southwest of Dillon, Montana. The commercial pilot and his passenger were not injured, but the helicopter sustained substantial damage. The Public Use snow-survey flight, which departed another remote site about 1000 that morning, had landed on the snow pack in order for the Soil Conservation Service to measure the snow depth. The aircraft was being operated in visual meteorological conditions at the time of the accident. No flight plan had been filed, and there was no report of an ELT activation.
According to the pilot, he set the helicopter down on the snow and rotated the cyclic in a circle in order to check the firmness of the snowpack before shutting down. Because the snow appeared to be firm enough to hold the weight of the helicopter, he decided it would be all right to shut down the engine. As he shut off the engine and the main rotor began to decelerate, one of the skids broke through the snow, and the tail rotor impacted the snow, and then struck the tail boom.
The helicopter's skids were equipped with snowpads.
The pilot did not return pages three and five of NTSB Form 6120.1/2.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2277T
- Reported as
- Bell 206
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 3631
- Airframe hours
- 8,051
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20B, 425 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Public aircraft · Part 91
- Operator
- Carisch, Mike G., doing business as Carisch Helicopters
- Registered owner
- Garlick Helicopters, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 9, 1994 · 96 hours before
- Departed
- DLN · MT
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 30
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 2,000 total · 1,600 in this make and model · 1,900 as pilot in command · 35 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N2277T · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.